(ORDO NEWS) — It looks like Elon Musk has changed his mind about buying Twitter again. Now that he wants to return to the agreement, many questions remain unanswered, but some things can be explained.
The billionaire announced his intention to return to the agreement in a new statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission. But everything is not just like that, the letter contains one condition – Twitter must drop the lawsuit.
Such an unexpected development of events gives rise to a number of questions: why was this drama and whether it was impossible to bring everything to an end at once. The Verge tried to answer a number of questions by contacting legal experts and specialists.
Brief background
It all started with the fact that Elon Musk announced the acquisition of a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter in April 2022.
Then the company immediately responded by offering the billionaire a seat on the board of directors. Musk first accepted the offer, and then changed his mind about a week later.
The reason for this decision is that by accepting the offer, Musk could not acquire a share of more than 14.9 percent.
He also hinted that he would have to give up his hobby of tweeting (any nonsense that Musk is not an expert on, ed.). Shortly thereafter, Elon offered to buy Twitter in its entirety for $44 billion, and the company agreed.
It was around that time that things went downhill very soon, Musk accused Twitter of not providing him with adequate information about the number of spambots on the platform, and then said that this was enough reason for him to abandon the deal altogether.
Twitter was not very happy about this and went to deal with the billionaire in court in order to force him to keep his promises there.
New offer
Twitter and Musk were supposed to meet in court on Oct. 17, but in typical Musk fashion, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, he decided he would still go through with his agreement to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share — if the judge who claim, adjourn the case.
What made Musk return to the agreement
During the course of the trial, several inconvenient text messages were discovered that showed exactly how the deal did not fall through. This is likely just the beginning of unpleasant surprises if the trial continues and Musk understands this.
According to Eric Tully, a law professor at Columbia University, further litigation could bring to the surface “grossly inconsistent statements” that could cause even more legal problems for the billionaire.
Will Twitter accept Musk’s offer?
The purpose of the legal battle with Musk was to force him to comply with the terms of the agreement and acquire the company for the previously specified amount.
Since Musk has now effectively returned to the initial terms of the agreement, it no longer makes sense for the company to continue the case in court, so in the near future we may indeed witness the conclusion of an agreement between the company and the billionaire.
In addition, Twitter has already stated that it intends to “close the deal at a price of $54.20 per share.”
Ann Lipton, a professor of business law at Tulane University, told The Verge that “it’s hard to tell how serious Musk’s claim is until his court hearing is on Twitter.
It would be odd for Musk to publicly file a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission unless he is sincerely interested in a settlement – otherwise it would be a serious securities fraud, Lipton noted.
When will this drama end?
It is now completely unclear how long it will take before the deal is actually closed. However, there is an important deadline in April 2023, when Musk’s financial agreements expire.
If he doesn’t close the agreement or renew it until then, it’s entirely possible that the entire agreement could fall through – potentially leaving him on the hook for a billion-dollar rupture fine.
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